Leonid meteors: Where to catch next in UAE

The Leonid meteor shower is an annual celestial display and is named after the constellation, Leo the Lion, because of its trajectory that radiates from the vicinity of stars representing a Lion’s mane.

The Leonids meteor shower’s peak may have passed by UAE skies last night, but those of you who missed out on the celestial spectacle can still enjoy the cosmic display online with the Slooh Community Observatory.

Some astronomers predict a second peak of the Leonid meteor shower will also occur on Thursday.

Skywatchers took to Twitter, calling it ‘whale songs and waves’, while GLoLady tweeted: “Wow Space Music; Leonids almost sounds like Church bells.”

Meanwhile, Dana Towles tweeted: “Does anyone agree with me that Leonids sound a lot like the X-Files theme?”

In perhaps one of the last celestial wonders of 2014, the Leonid meteor shower streaked through the skies on Monday night, burning up in a haze of glory as the week-long cosmic display hits its peak.

UAE residents, meanwhile, can catch the display until November 21, according to the Dubai Astronomy Group (DAG). The Leonid meteor shower is an annual event, one of the 12 major celestial displays occurring every year and is named after the constellation Leo the Lion, because of its trajectory that radiates from the vicinity of stars representing a Lion’s mane.
 
Leonid has morphed into a meteor storm in the past in 2002 when roughly 3,000 meteors per hour shot through the sky.

The Dubai Astronomy Group (DAG) had organised a special event at Mushrif Park on Monday night, in conjunction with Dubai Municipality, for UAE residents to get a chance to witness up to 10-12 meteors burning bright by the hour.
 
The public event was held from 9pm until 3am, with the DAG citing that the pre-dawn hours could very well mark the perfect conditions for a fireball or two streaking across the night sky.
 
DAG had stated those attending the public event need to approach the one-way road system with dimmed lights.

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